Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Civil rights and federal attorneys sparred at a hearing over a case involving domestic dragnet surveillance by the federal government. The plaintiffs argued the searches are illegal, while the government said opponents don’t have enough evidence to know.The hearing, requested by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for a partial summary judgment, concerns the class action lawsuit, Jewel v. NSA, which was filed six years ago. It claims the National Security Agency (NSA) acquired AT&T customers’ email and other data using surveillance devices attached to the company’s network.

US District Judge Jeffrey White heard argument from both sides in order to meet the plaintiffs’ July 2014 motion for a partial summary judgment on whether the government is “violating the Fourth Amendment by their ongoing seizures and searches of plaintiff’s Internet communications.” He presented both sides with a list of 12 questions.